Isolating a scanning electron microscope from chiller unit vibrations

Abstract

Although a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has very low tolerance to being disturbed by vibration, it requires a chiller for operation. Isolating the SEM from its associated chiller vibration takes careful consideration. This paper presents a case study of the performance of several slab-on-grade configurations. These configurations were specifically constructed to support various water chiller units and other service equipment as well as various vibration sensitive microscopes in a high performance research facility. In this study, the slabs are subjected to shaker-induced harmonic loading similar to that of a water chiller unit used to cool a SEM. The actual performance will be discussed in the context of generic design criteria for sensitive equipment and the SEM manufacturer-specified design criteria.